We examine the relationship between public libraries and local crime rates. Previous studies have looked at different factors that could account for changes in crime, but few have focused on cultural institutions as a primary factor. Using crime data from the Crime Open Database and library data...

In 2018, Idaho became the first state to grant prescriptive authority to pharmacists in the United States for a limited range of medications related to minor conditions. We examine the effects of this reform on access to care for Medicare beneficiaries prescribed albuterol sulfate (a drug to...

Researchers specializing in gun policy often measure the effect of a given policy using a standard difference-in-difference approach. We highlight a potential concern with this method which complicates the identification of a causal relationship: gun access potentially changes with legislation....

The shortage of nurse practitioners (NPs) in the United States has broadly decreased access, decreased quality, and increased cost of care for an aging population in both metro and rural areas. Some state policymakers are trying to address the shortage by expanding NPs' scope of practice (that...

Literature relates the sudden expansion of tight oil and shale gas in the United States with higher employment and income. In this work, we investigate the disamenities due to the shale boom— the effects of the shale boom on local crime. Based on all the counties in the US, we find places with...